Hidden Pond Nature Center

Acres of undisturbed woodland, quiet trails, splashing streams and a
tranquil pond are just a few of the reasons to visit Hidden Pond Nature
Center. Tucked away in Springfield, Hidden Pond is a neighborhood haven
filled with wondrous things. Hidden Pond, at 25 acres, lies adjacent to
the much larger Pohick Stream Valley
Park which boasts over 700 acres. A new 2000-foot trail
and bridge has connected the two parks, so that many more neighbors and
guests can visit the Hidden Pond Nature Center as well as the pond,
streams, wetlands, woods and other quiet places that these preserves
have to offer.

The nature center, which is accessible to everyone, features exhibits
and live displays which orient you to the park and the natural world of
Fairfax County. Read More >>

In addition, the center has a small sales area featuring books and
other items for the nature enthusiast and nature study areas for
group visitors. Complementing the nature center are stream side and
woodland walking trails, a self-guided nature trail and a one-acre
pond. The park also features lighted tennis courts and a children's
play area.

The nature center staff offers programs for school, youth and scout
groups, community organizations and the general public. Activities
include guided walks, field trips, workshops, demonstrations and
special request programs by reservation on a variety of topics.

Our resident animals would like to take the
opportunity to introduce themselves to you. They love to have visitors,
so please come by and see them in person!

My name is Fluffy and I am a common snapping turtle - you can find
more turtles like me here at the pond. I am a relative of the alligator
snapping turtles that live south of Virginia. I got my name because
when I shed my skin it hangs off of me in little pieces and makes me
look fluffy. I am 8 years old and had been someone’s pet when I was
little, but they didn’t realize I would get so big! Now my home is at
Hidden Pond where I make appearances at programs about turtles. Read More
>>

My shell is about a foot across, but I’m not as big as the females
in my species which get twice my size! I am also lighter colored than
other snapping turtles because my shell and skin have not been
stained by the dark mud of the pond. I love to eat EVERYTHING! There
is little that I won’t eat but I prefer worms, slugs, bugs and fish.

When I’m not doing programs or swimming in my aquarium, I like to
sit by the windows and soak up the sun. In the spring and summer I
like to go for walks outside. Unlike other snapping turtles, I don’t
snap (except for food) and love to meet people during programs where
they get a chance to touch and see what I feel like. Remember, we’re
called snapping turtles for a reason and the rest of my species is
usually very grumpy and snap to defend themselves if bothered.
Petting me is likely one of the only times you will be able to safely
touch a snapping turtle, so come and visit me - I am a one unusual
creature!

Nature News - Why the Leaves Leave Us

Fall leaves; a delightful sight, but I can’t help but feel a bit
abandoned as the forests transform from expansive canopies of green to
scarce skeletons of braches. So I ask the question: Why do the leaves
leave us in the fall?

The answer, you may think, is simple. “You see, the leaves obviously
leave because it is cold,” but that’s not the case. Now the task is a
bit trickier. “Well… Um, maybe they do it because there’s less water in
the fall?” Wrong again, fall isn’t an especially dry season so this
wouldn’t affect the trees. Finally, you’re stumped. “They probably do
it so the other trees will stop laughing at them for being different
and just leaf them alone.” Sadly, while that’s an excellent pun (the
opportunitrees for tree puns are absorootly endless), it’s still not
the right answer. So what is? Read More >>

Trees are a lot more scientific than you might think. As a month, a
week, and even a few days go by, our days are either getting shorter
or longer depending on what time of year it is, and where you are in
the world. For all of us, the longest day of the year is the summer
solstice, which in 2014, was the 21st of June. After the summer
solstice, the days get shorter and shorter until we hit the winter
solstice, which will fall on December 21st this year. After that
occurs, the days get longer again, and the whole cycle will repeat
itself forever, but the interesting thing is how much of life depends
on this pendulum of day lengths. Trees happen to be one such group of
organisms that are reliant on day length to regulate their lives.

When the days become too short, the trees recognize this, and
essentially cut off the leaves from the rest of the tree. This will
result in the leaves dying and falling to the ground, but that still
leaves the question of the colors. Not to worry, the trees have that
figured out too. Over the course of the growing season, trees are
continuously producing chlorophyll (the green pigment of leaves)
because it is broken down naturally by sunlight, but when the tree
cuts the resources going to the leaf, this production stops. This
gives the other pigments their time to shine.

Orange and yellow pigments are present in the leaf all year, so when
the chlorophyll is no longer present, they become visible. Many local
trees such as hickories, ash, tulip pop-lars, and sycamores showcase
these vibrant selections of the spectrum, but some trees go one step
further. The red and purple colors we commonly see in the fall aren’t
the product of pigments found in the leaves during the growing
season, but rather are produced and displayed as this grand leaf
affair is occurring. Although it may seem a bit illogical to be
working to produce new things while trying to settle down for winter,
some scientists believe it is to show that they are in good health.
By being able to produce new pigments while maintaining enough stored
energy to last the winter, these trees could be telling insects that
they aren’t vulnerable to attacks, so they should be left alone. Some
trees in our area that produce these pigments are the dogwood tree
(our state tree) and persimmons.

As complicated as these leaves might be and as hard as it is to
watch the summer fall away with the leaves, we know they’ll be back
when spring comes, and hey, they sure are beautiful to look at.

Top 10 Reasons to Visit Hidden Pond in Winter

Our friendly naturalist staff will warm you up with their smiles and
knowledge.

Since leaves are off the trees, you will have a greater chance of
seeing wildlife.

Bird watching –winter is a fantastic time to see our resident barred
owls, ruby crowned kinglets, brown creepers, several species of
woodpeckers and many other feathered surprises.

Search for tracks of wild creatures at the creeks edge and see if you
can identify them using a tracking guide from the center.

Meet some of our exhibit creatures like our friendly snapping turtle
and cuddly black rat snakes up close and personal since the crowds
are smaller in the colder months.

Come out for the
Salamander Crawl, when our resident salamanders come out in
droves to meet and lay eggs!

Sit down and look out our large viewing window and see nature unfold
before you.

Get healthy by walking our trails and being at one with the serenity
of the great outdoors.

Try your hand at finding some of the park’s more unusual evergreen
plants such as polypody fern, liverworts and the native ground cover
partridge berry-please don’t pick-we need these native plants to
stick around.

Pohick Signature Series

The longest running program at Hidden Pond, the Pohick Rangers was
started as a kind of nature club, patterned after such a club that I
had been in at my elementary school in Maryland, when I was growing
up. Remembering how much fun it had been was just one of several
reasons we wanted to do something like that at Hidden Pond. The other
reasons were to show off the great natural areas of our park and help
young people have a fun, in-the-field learning experience. Read More
>>

The topics covered in the program include wetland studies,
forestry, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods, nocturnal wildlife,
geology and the site’s cultural history to name a few. The hands-on
netting experience down at the creek, along with fishing and bug
hunting are very popular parts of this program. However, just being
able to get out and explore the woodlands by climbing over logs,
rocks and traversing a stream seems to be often what motivates the
sense of discovery with program participants.

Sometimes program participants have done habitat restoration
activities like building a vernal pool in 1998 and in 2012 - both
now are amphibian breeding areas in the park. Over the years, in
various sessions, well over several hundred tree seedlings have
been planted in areas where invasive plant species were taken out
by young people.

Since its inception in 1991, the program has helped to ready young
people who would become our volunteers, and later, in some
instances become staff. Currently, at Hidden Pond 3 former
“rangers” are on staff. Around the county, state and nation, former
Pohick Rangers are: teachers, aerospace engineers, business
persons, journalists, graphic designers, doctors, college
professors, serving in armed forces, scientists and many other
professions. We see a wide- array of personalities in the program,
but this is what makes it fun for the staff and for the group.

No matter what these young people end up doing in their adult
lives, they take away a greater appreciation of what our natural
world is all about and what it offers to us. They have a new
compassion and respect for all living things that they will share
with others. I know that this is so, for I still am friends with
three of the original Pohick Rangers from 1991, and their love for
nature now is still strong as it was 24 years ago.